• Read more about Tablet Navigation

I know what you’re thinking from the title, ”Ugh, another hamburger menu debate”, but you’d be wrong...mostly. While this post will include everyone’s favorite icon to hate, this is more of an open discussion. About what the most appropriate navigation style is when viewing your content on a tablet. Also for the sake of argument in this post let’s assume tablet = a regular iPad.

I was talking with a friend of mine the other day and he asked me this very question. He was working on some tablet wireframes and asked “What are your thoughts on tablet navigation? Should it stick with typical desktop or jump right into mobile”? Now the “right” answer of course is let your navigation/content dictate the best way for it to be displayed, but maybe that’s too simple. My first reaction was just this, if you’re viewing a site or app in a landscape orientation on your tablet then the navigation pattern should probably remain in tact in its desktop style. The tablet display has the available space to represent the full navigation in a horizontal position, and Luke Wroblewski (http://www.lukew.com/ff/entry.asp?1945) has shown us that if we want engagement then we need to display our nav.

This is where things got a little interesting though, I told him that if someone made the switch from holding the tablet horizontally(landscape), to vertically(portrait) then it might make more sense at that point to switch over to a mobile navigation pattern. Chances are that when you flip your tablet vertically the viewable area is going to be too small to properly display the navigation you spent hours crafting. My friend was very adamant that the navigation pattern should remain constant on the device you’re viewing it on. He was also concerned that a typical desktop nav wouldn’t work as well as it should on a tablet. He brings up a very valid concern about consistency, should the navigation, regardless of the orientation of a device be consistent even if that means sacrificing a little usability?

So I’ll pose the question to you the reader, what is the right answer, is there a right approach? Or is this problem like every other, and should be considered on a case by case basis?

• Read more about User-Centric Design for Federal Websites

For Federal Offices of Communication, the act—and art—of balancing websites that both cater to the public and promote the organizational structure and mission of the organization is always top of mind. Accordingly, those partnering with Federal offices must prioritize meeting both needs when designing and building agency sites. On numerous projects, our team has successfully managed to increase usability and deliver user-centric designs while simultaneously building sites that allow our Federal clients to bolster their brand. A sample of results for some clients:

-a swift 4% increase in first-time visitor overall satisfaction
-76% of all mobile users strongly agreeing that the new site made content easier to find
-88% of frequently visiting teens being satisfied with the new site

Below are some of the tools we’ve implemented to achieve success:

Navigation and Information Architecture

Treejack is a great usability testing tool that development teams can wield to test the information architecture and navigation of the site prior to even beginning a design. It is best used to test the findability of topics in a website using different navigational hierarchies. For one of our projects, both internal and external stakeholders were given 46 tasks to perform using a variety of different navigation hierarchies to find the most optimal site organization for both constituent groups.

Usability Testing

For usability testing, our team leverages both Loop11 and Usertesting.com. Using a live, interactive environment, both of these tools allow development teams to gain deep understanding of user behavior by observing users as they complete a series of tasks and questions on the site and/or mobile app in question. Interactions are captured and then analyzed in comprehensive reports. As an added bonus, Usertesting.com provides video footage of the interaction for review:

http://bit.ly/1rRvEAm

In summary, Federal websites and applications are often designed with too much emphasis on organizational hierarchy and goals, and too little focus on meeting end-users’ needs and expectations. User-Centric Design (UCD) tools can help government agencies buck this trend, however, allowing them to create websites and applications that engage users and maximize their interaction. Ultimately, this results in a sure win-win: Federal agencies’ constituents can experience an efficient, satisfying, and user-friendly design, and—with constituents’ increased engagement—organizations can ensure that their missions and information are communicated effectively. Act balanced.

• Read more about Save on Prescriptions: Medvana Launches (También en Español)

Medvana helps you find the nearest pharmacies willing to provide deep discounts on most branded and generic prescription drugs. Show your pharmacist the Medvana Savings Card in the appand save up to 76% on Prescription Drugs at over 50,000 participating pharmacies.

• Read more about Capitalizing Apple Products in Ruby (and more)

I've been doing a bit more Ruby and Ruby on Rails coding lately by virtue of silently commandeering the Intridea.com codebase. shhhh, it can be our secret.

Riding the Pipeline of Assets

Last month I upgraded the site from Rails 2.3 to Rails 3.1; getting up and running on the asset pipeline was a much larger project than I imagined, and while I had plans for a supremely awesome post on all the details of the upgrade, I spent less time taking notes on all the cute little steps and more time... LOST IN TIME AND SPACE with all the.... complications. #ahem

This week I got the site running on Rails 3.2, which thankfully was pretty easy. The instructions on RubyonRails.org were succinct and helpful. I did run into a few minor hiccups but overall it was a breeze. The biggest problem I ran into was one involving Rack 1.4.1 and cookies. For a view of the crime scene, check the gist.

A quick search on StackOverflow told me a lot of others were having this issue as well, but a simple act of clearing cookies fixed their problem. It wasn't so easy in my case. In the end I had to rollback to Rack 1.4.0, but I've got my fingers crossed for a fix in some future release.

i to the P

With Rails upgrades out of the way, I am focusing on smaller enhancements here and there as time permits. This week I added a helper file for our blog categories. These categories are generated dynamically based on the popularity/density of tags in blog posts (thanks to Michael Bleigh's Acts As Taggable On gem), but I wanted to capitalize the category names and appropriately not capitalize the "i" in words like "iPhone" and "iPad" and consequently capitalize the second letter in those specific words. It's not rocket science, but if you are upper-casing words in your app and want to create exceptions for Apple products, here's some code for you:

module TagHelper   def tag_title(tag)     name = tag.name.downcase     iProduct = %w(iphone ipad)     if iProduct.include?(name)       apple_product_titlize(name)     else       name.capitalize     end   end    def apple_product_titlize(name)     name[0] + name[1].capitalize + name[2..-1]   end end 

This method is called by a bit of Ruby in our view:

<% @categories.each do |tag| %>   <li><%= link_to "#{tag_title(tag)} (#{tag.count})", "/tag/#{tag.name}" %></li> <% end %> 

The Before & After

Updates? Yeah, we do that

So there you have it - a long overdue update on intridea.com upgrades and a snippet of code to help you manage the "i" pandemic.

Happy coding!

• Read more about Designing for High Resolution Displays: Thinking Beyond 72 DPI

It’s been nearly a year since the release of the iPhone 4, and much to the dismay of the tech community, it’s still the only product in the Apple lineup with a high pixel density ‘Retina’ display. While the much-hyped feature drew universal praise when the device was unveiled, some were wondering the following:

• Would consumers see this as a compelling feature?
• Would competitors follow suit, establishing critical mass for high PPI displays?
• Would Apple eventually launch a Retina display for iPad or Macbook Air? Or would another manufacturer release an ultra-high resolution tablet or laptop?

In a little over 10 months time, high PPI displays are currently everywhere in mobile. Walk into any carrier retail store, and chances are that the featured smartphones already feature high-resolution displays. Those that don’t have them likely will within an iteration or two.

Retina display for Mac will be here sooner rather than later. Apple’s yet-to-be-launched OS X Lion includes built-in support for the Retina display, along with ultra high-res desktop wallpapers and icons. It’s a decent bet that we’ll eventually see some variation of the Retina display across the entire product line. And of course, as happened in mobile, the rest of the industry will follow Apple’s lead, effectively eliminating the concept of a default dpi standard.

How can designers and developers prep for this change?

Embrace resolution-independent design practices for the web, not just mobile. Up until this point, designers and developers who haven’t worked in mobile have been able to avoid the extra hassle of prepping content for high PPI displays. But with the classic notion of the ‘pixel’ fading away, it’s a good time to reiterate the importance of resolution-independent design practices across the board. Specifically:

• Minimal use of bitmaps (reserved for photography, video, and illustrations)
• CSS3 for buttons, gradients, shadows, and lines
• HTML5 canvas and SVG libraries for complex and interactive graphics
• @font-face for custom type
• Vector graphics for interface elements

Start to use Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) on the web. With Internet Explorer 9 finally getting onboard with the basic SVG feature set, it’s time to adopt vector graphics on the web (for real this time). Unless you are designing for a specific audience using certain browsers (in which case you may need fallbacks), now is a great time to consider using SVG for:

• Icons
• Background images
• Custom type treatments
• Logos and mastheads

Get comfortable with Adobe Illustrator. This advice was doled out around the web when the Retina display was first introduced, and one year later it rings more true than ever. Photoshop is still the industry standard for producing web graphics, but as the web steers towards resolution independence, so should the toolkit.

Photoshop users: keep all of your source files in vector format for as long as you possibly can. If you must use Photoshop (full disclosure, we love it and use it daily at Intridea), it’s a good idea to create your interface elements as vector Smart Objects, or import them directly from Illustrator. This way, your elements can scale when you resize the source files without effectively losing resolution.

For time being

The current process of designing for high PPI displays is a bit of a hassle, but it’s hopefully transitional. Designing for the Retina display with targeted CSS and high-res bitmaps is already intensive. Throw in the eventual release of high PPI displays on tablets and laptops and it’ll be painstaking.

There are a number of established design practices for supporting high PPI displays. Many of the tutorial articles written soon after the iPhone 4’s launch are still relevant (here’s a great list of some key takeways).

• Read more about CogConnect - Mobile Rehab for Stroke Victims

Introducing SparkTime

A few months ago Intridea decided to splurge and upgrade our (already awesome) benefits package. In addition to the basic perks like amazing health insurance, hardware funds and an annual subscription to Amazon Prime, we started a new program called SparkTime. SparkTime is much like Google's 20% time – everyone spends a few hours a week working on something that they are passionate about. We record our ideas in SparkBin, team up if we want to collaborate, and then we get down to the business of impassioned creation.

The Spark

In addition to being a UI Designer here at Intridea, I’m also a grad student in the Human-Centered Computing program at UMBC. This semester, my professors Dr. Amy Hurst (co-creator of http://nickelforscale.com/) and Dr. Ravi Kuber (author of many great papers on computing and the visually impaired) suggested that I work on a mobile rehabilitation application for stroke patients. This sounded like the perfect opportunity to bridge my educational and professional worlds.

Research = Time Well Spent

I’ve been prepping for this project by taking Dr. Hurst’s course on Assistive Technology. Chris Selmer is my “internal client” and he sent me to an iOS crash course where I had gotten the basic fundamentals of iPhone MVC architecture and learned Obj-C syntax. These courses have been extremely helpful, but I also needed requirements from real doctors and nurses on how this mobile application should actually work.

Before I started wireframing and coming up with designs I needed to do some research. So I talked with nurses and physicians in the stroke unit at the Kernan Rehabilitation Center. I had the opportunity to communicate with stroke victims and in doing so, I observed the deficiencies caused by stroke trauma. The physicians described exercises that they would like to see in a mobile device. I visited with Dr. Mark Young (physician with a specialty in stroke trauma) and my friend Michelle Jones (occupational therapist at UMMC) who both helped me strengthen my idea and gave me insight into rehabilitation for those with physical and cognitive deficits.

Armed with some really useful information, I was able to approach the blueprints for the mobile app. Initially, I had imagined that I would be creating an application that focused solely on physical rehab using a smartphone; but, as it turns out, what stroke victims really need is an application that stimulates their coordination, cognitive abilities, and fine motor skills. I had planned on using an iPhone but I have since decided to start with an iPad, so the user will have more screen area to start with.

I saw firsthand why user interviews are so necessary and why design should rarely be an effort by the designer alone.

The Beginning of a Great App

I’ve named the project CogConnect, and plan to keep my entire process and code open-source. I’m in the design phase right now and I'm happy with the wireframes and the direction of the project. I'm looking forward to spending my SparkTime working on this application!

• Read more about The iPad and Other Media Tablets as Productivity Tools

It's the gift-giving season and it's likely some of you are thinking of giving someone or even yourself a mobile media tablet such as Apple's iPad, Samsung's Galaxy Tab or Barnes & Noble's NookColor. You may or may not be inspired by the fact that a growing number of bankers, executives, doctors and other professionals are getting such devices issued to them at work. However, can today's media tablets help such employees be productive, or is there something missing -- such as suitable stylus for those who find finger-based input onerous?

Thumbs Down for the Finger as Input Device

To facilitate enterprise use, I strongly believe that a mobile device needs stylus support, so I suggest waiting to see what 2011 brings. Don't get me wrong. I'm very fond of both my Apple iPad and my NookColor (Android), and find touchscreens addictive. But for some mobile tasks, using a stylus is much more productive than a finger. As a long-time fan of Palm's Vx PDA and the Treo 650, I found the stylus very useful. On the other hand, I'm not so enamored of the Palm Pre Plus due to the small screen and lack of a stylus. I find the device hard to use for my fingers, unfortunately making it a non-productive device at least for me. Now imagine having to either enter a lot of data on a mobile app, or select from a large number of options. Certain professions require this. Now imagine doing it every day. For example, when a colleague asked me to create two medical diagnostics apps for the iPhone and iPad for hospitals, I thought about how onerous these would be for daily use without a stylus. Another colleague discussed a simple image manipulation app for the iPhone, but if you've ever tried cropping a photo with your finger, you know how awkward that can get. Can you imagine the awkwardness of tasks such as signing digital documents, or worse, take notes with your finger? Note-taking, in my opinion, will become a very common activity on media tablets, if stylus support is included.

What's Coming

It's a fact that 2011 will bring a whole slew of media tablets for most or all of the top mobile operating systems, and stylus support would be nice for those who feel the finger is just not an accurate data input tool for the enterprise, or even for personal creative use. Never mind the fact that a stylus can have a finite number of predefined pressure or capacitive settings as necessary, unlike a finger. A stylus also doesn't get tired like a finger, after hours of use, day in and day out. At the moment, there are a number of stylus makers out there. I've personally only researched them for the iPad. What I've found so far might suffice for simple uses, but I haven't seen a for-iPad stylus yet that seems precise (pointy) enough for notetaking or drawing/ diagramming. An informal poll of tech-savvy people I know who have iPads or Android tablets suggests that they'd all like to use the devices for notetaking, and I don't imagine that'd be much different for all the professionals being issued tablets by employers.

Thumbs Up for the Stylus as Productivity Accessory

As a productivity techniques evangelist, I'm a long-time fan of mind maps-based diagramming -- something I just don't relish doing with my finger on media tablet. But as soon as a viable stylus is available, I may never diagram or write on paper again. What's missing, at least in the iPad arena, is a stylus sanctioned by Apple, unless I've taken a Rumpelstiltskin-like snooze and missed some important news. On the other hand, as mentioned in a recent All Things Digital article, a number of stylus makers are trying to persuade Android handset makers into supporting stylus-based touchscreen input. If Apple does not offer their own stylus solution with the next generation of iPads (rumored to be shipping in Feb 2011), or at least sanction a third-party stylus for the iPad before the end of H1 2011, Android tablets could potentially offer a huge advantage for enterprise use. As well, a stylus would open up the possibility of creative tasks on media tablets. For example, photo cropping or drawing, or the aforementioned mind mapping and diagramming. Combined with the popular Swype method of text input (over the virtual mobile keyboard), a stylus could be just the accessory to turn a media tablet from the expensive toy it's sometimes perceived as, collectively, to a high-productivity tool. Expectations of Apple's iPad outselling every other media tablet out there in 2011 may not come to pass if private and business users show that they want precision stylus support. So if you're undecided about which media tablet to purchase, you might want to skip Xmas, skip Boxing Day sales and wait until Q1 or Q2 2011, to see if any of the upcoming mobile devices have serious stylus support. On the other hand, if you just want to play popular games such as Angry Birds or Infinity Blade, there's something to be said for the addictive factor of using your fingers.

• Read more about Verizon and AT&T to Carry Apple iPad: What It Means

So, you thought that AT&T already sold the Apple iPad, did you? You can't be faulted for that, considering that the 3G models of the popular mobile media tablet uses an optional AT&T data plan. However, AT&T will not actually be selling iPads until Oct 28th -- the same day that their wireless competitor Verizon will be selling the iPad as well. Thrown into the mix, Wal-mart will join the list of retailers selling the device, which includes the recent addition of Best Buy this past summer.

But forget the retailers; it's the resulting competition between AT&T and Verizon that will be interesting to watch. How will they compete each other? They can't reduce the device price, since Apple has that fixed -- no discounts, unless they themselves offer it. So obviously, the differentiation between carriers will be data plans and connection options, though one or both might decide to throw in goodies such as special cables. Except that AT&T has one advantage, as discussed in the next section.

Device Options

Overall, there are six models of the iPad. One variable is memory size (16GB, 32GB and 64GB), and the other is a choice between a WiFi-only model and WiFi+3G model. AT&T will be offering all six models of iPad, since the 3G network used belongs to them. Verizon will be offering the three WiFi-only models, but to entice consumers over, they're also offering a Internet connection bundle for each of the three models, the details of which are below.

Internet Connection Options

With the AT&T offerings, if you need to be connected to the Internet regularly, you'd probably want one of the WiFi+3G models. If a wireless network connection suffices, then a WiFi-only model will probably do, and is cheaper besides. For Verizon, you have a choice of just a WiFi-only iPad, or getting a bundle that includes a MiFi 2220 mobile hotspot device. Normally, a hotspot device might be awkward to carry around, though MiFi 2200 is said to be quite small and pocketable. What's more, the MiFi 2200 lets you connect up to five devices to the Internet.

There are other options. Myself, I use a different Verizon option, based on what was available when I got my iPad (on its launch day in April 2010). I have a Palm Pre Plus smartphone that has an embedded mobile hotspot feature, which is free of charge and lets me connect up to five devices to the Internet. The only drawback is that if I'm on the go and am not carrying a car charger (or my iPad or iPhone is already plugged into the car charging socket) or don't have an AC outlet to charge from, then the Pre's battery burns out extremely fast while the mobile hotspot feature is enabled. I've never kept an accurate time, but it feels like about an hour before the battery is dead, whether I'm using the Internet connection or not. I'm not mistaken, I'm paying $40/month for the data plan (5GB) and $40/month for the cell phone minutes -- which I never use. My understanding is that Verizon also has Android phones that have mobile hotspots, if you don't want a Palm Pre Plus.

iPad Data Plans: A Comparison

In retrospect, had the iPad 3G been available on launch day, I would probably have purchased that. It's much more convenient than carrying my Palm Pre Plus and its charger around (as I already carry my iPhone and sometimes my iPod Touch as well). However, for those consumer who don't want to use AT&T, it's important to note that Verizon currently has the more cost-effective data plans:

• Verizon's MiFi 2200 data plans: 1GB for $20/month; 3GB for $35/month; 5GB for $50/month. Overage charges are $10 per GigaByte for the two top-end plans, and $20 per GigaByte on the low-end plan. Verizon is offering these special MiFi rate plans only for new iPad purchases and not for other MiFi use. (Note: normal Verizon rates are are actually higher than AT&T: 250MB for $35/month and 5GB for $60/month. These are special iPad bundle rates.)
• AT&T: 250MB for $14.99/month (about 3 times Verizon for 1GB worth); 2GB for $25/month. (Had AT&T stuck with their original $25/month "unlimited" plan for iPad, they would have had the best rate.) AT&T will also offer iPads free access to their 23,000+ WiFi hotspots in the USA.

So Verizon's data plans are much cheaper on a per-GB average. Normally, Verizon charges $299 for a MiFi device costs $299 or significantly less if you sign a new 2-year contract, but they've dropped the cost to $130 and dropped data plan rates for their iPad bundles. Their data plans are month to month, but you cannot buy an iPad "now" then go back later for a MiFi 2200 and expect the bundle rates. AT&T's data plan also does not require a contract, but the three 3G models do cost $130 more than their WiFi-only counterparts.

Which Carrier Should You Choose?

Confused yet? It's a bit difficult to recommend a carrier here. I use both AT&T and Verizon, but I am a mobile apps developer, so my needs are different than for most iPad users. It really depends on how you would use your iPad and whether you need to connect other devices. A 3G model is more convenient but binds you to AT&T. Verizon's iPad bundles let you connect multiple devices, but battery power would likely be less than the iPad's relatively long battery life, even in use. (Note: Apple's Verizon press release says the MiFi 2200 "provides up to four hours of active use and 40 hours of standby time on a single charge.")

For businesses that plan to have employees use the device for internal corporate use, WiFi-only models might suffice if a wireless network is always available. If an employee is will be "out in the field," then it's up to either cost, convenience, connection needs or carrier preference. (Don't forget AT&T's domestic network of 23,000+ free WiFi hotspots.) The same reasoning applies to individuals considering purchasing an iPad.

What This Means for the Future

Now of course the fact that Verizon will carry the iPad is refueling rumors that a Verizon iPhone is coming in 2011, and if that's true, I wouldn't be surprised if they offer Internet tethering, even if AT&T will not. What do I think? Well, it seems to me that Apple is starting a new, open relationship with Verizon and that that will very likely lead to other joint offerings. In other words, a Verizon iPhone will eventually come, once Apple is happy with Verizon's cellular network. Apple needs to diversify U.S. cellular provider coverage and cannot afford to lose more ground in the U.S. to Android phones.

Whichever carrier iPad buyers go with starting Oct 28th, the percentage of American adults owning media tablet devices is going to climb from the Pew Internet's current estimate of ~4%, and iPad sales will be a significant part of that. Gartner, Inc., feels that, worldwide, nearly 20 million units of media tablets (aka slates) will be sold in 2010, nearly 55M units in 2011, and over 208M units worldwide in 2014. Gene Munster, an analyst at Piper Jaffray, recently predicted that iPads alone would sell 21M units in 2011 -- nearly half of Gartner's total for all types of media tablets -- a number that's up from his initial estimate of 14.5M iPad units worldwide.

The net result of this is that mini notebook sales will suffer. If that means consumers start to use the iPads or other media tablets more often, there will be an increased demand for touch-based tablet software. This is supported by the prediction that larger media tablet devices will have an important role in the enterprise. In fact, AT&T plans to sell iPads directly to the enterprise. Once a multitasking version of Apple's iOS mobile OS is available for the iPad -- which will allow users to run several apps simultaneously, the device will have significantly more value in the enterprise.

Need advice on an iPad strategy for your business? Just want to know how you can leverage the mobile platform in general? Feel free to contact us to discuss your app idea or mobile campaign needs.

• Read more about Oil Reporter Now Available for iPad

Last month Intridea released Oil Reporter, a mobile application for iPhone and Android devices. Oil Reporter is currently being used by NGO's and citizens on the ground to report affected areas of the spill, including the impact to wildlife, the presence of wetlands, and the amount of oil that is present. All of the data collected by Oil Reporter users is publicly available on our website at OilReporter.org.

Now we've gone one step further and created a new Oil Reporter application specifically for the iPad. Oil Reporter for iPad enables you to see the latest reports as soon as they come in. You can view a detailed mapping of all of the submitted reports along with an easy-to-read list. You can even drill down and view detailed information about each individual report.

The code has also been open sourced on GitHub, so feel free to help us add some great new features to this application that we can push out in later updates. Oil Reporter for iPad is available right now and is completely free. The crowdsourced data gets analyzed by groups that can point relief efforts at the distressed areas according to the urgent reports that are filed with Oil Reporter. Start using it today!

• Read more about WWDC 2010 Keynote & iPhone 4 Details

The Keynote given by Steve Jobs was set to start at 10:00am PST. I decided to arrive a little early and get there around 7:30am, thinking that being nearly three hours early would yield me some great seats. I guess I underestimated just how many people would be getting there even earlier to see Steve Jobs unveil the new iPhone and announce other goodies that have been rumored. When I arrived at Moscone West, the line was wrapped all the way around the building. There were probably close to over a thousand people already in line that had the good sense to arrive even earlier than I did.

This was my first time attending WWDC and also my first time being in the presence of Steve Jobs. As the line started moving and I finally got inside the Moscone Center, I noticed all of the banners showcasing the new features of iOS 4.0, like multi-tasking and folders. I was most excited to hear all the juicy details about the new iPhone, which Gizmodo famously showed off to us a few months earlier. There were speculations about announcements of other items like iTunes.com, a new Mac Pro, a new Apple TV, and upgraded Mac Minis. Sadly, there was nothing new mentioned that wasn't for iPhone or iPad.

In the room where the Keynote was held, we all sat in chairs, iPads out, waiting with great anticipation for Steve Jobs to show up. When Steve finally appeared on stage we all cheered in a rush of excitement. After welcoming everybody to WWDC, he proceeded to recap on the launch of iPad and showed us a nice clip of the International launch. Then he announced some great new things, which are recapped below.

One of the first new items that he announced was notes for iBooks. You can now add notes within anything you're reading in the iBooks application. Also, something that almost everyone wanted was the ability to view PDFs in iBooks. Steve showed off a demo of both of these features and they looked great. This update will be available later on this month.

After a presentation from Netflix, who announced Netflix for iPhone, and Zynga, who announced Farmville for iPhone, Steve went on to talk about the current smartphone market share. Nielson released a new study and found that the iPhone is still leading with 35% and Android is trailing with only 9%. Steve also showed off some stats revealing that iPhone is also number one in mobile browser usage with 58.2% and Android at 22.7%. He went on to talk about how Apple re-invented the phone in 2007, and referenced a quote he made that year: "in 2010 we're going to take the biggest leap since the original iPhone." And with that opening, Steve announced iPhone 4 with over 100 new features. Obviously referencing the Gizmodo leak, Steve said, "I don't know if you've ever seen this", which elicited huge cheers from the audience.

The new iPhone is definitely gorgeous. It's glass on the front and back, and steel around the sides. It's a nice departure from the older designs while still being something that feels like it should be called an iPhone. iPhone 4 is also very thin, exactly 24% thinner when compared to the iPhone 3GS. It also has the front-facing camera. Steve claims it's the thinnest smartphone on the planet with a thickness of 9.3mm. When Gizmodo got their hands on the prototype iPhone there was a lot of talk about the seams along the side of the device. People argued that this wasn't really something Apple would do. Steve went on to explain that these seams or lines around the steel band are actually part of the antenna system, which should hopefully help us out with our reception.

The next item that they announced was the Retina display. They've increased the pixel density in this new display by four times. The new display has 326 pixels per inch, which is the highest pixel density of any phone on the market. Steve then showed off comparisons between the traditional display on the iPhone and the new Retina display. It's so clear that you basically cannot see any pixels at all. The specs on the new display is an 800:1 contrast ratio (4x better than the 3GS) and a 960x640 display using IPS technology.

iPhone 4 also has a new A4 chip, designed by their own team. They've also increased the size of the battery and are now using a Micro SIM versus a traditional SIM. There is up to 32GB of storage, quad-band HSDPA, dual mic noise suppression, and 802.11n WiFi. With the A4 chip and the bigger battery, battery life has definitely increased. Also announced was a new gyroscope, which is being added to iPhone 4. It's a 3-axis gyro which should give game developers much more accuracy when dealing with motion. This will translate into much more immersive and realistic game controls when combined with the existing accelerometer and compass.

Another big announcement was that iPhone OS has been renamed to iOS. After proceeding to going through most of the new iOS changes that we all knew about, Steve announced that iBooks would be coming to the iPhone along with the PDF and notes support that was announced for the iPad earlier. Along with this, iPhone users get the iBook Store. It was great to hear that we can download the same books to all of our devices for no extra charge. A great new feature as well is that iBooks automatically syncs your place, bookmarks, and notes.

After going through some iAd examples, Steve did his famous One more thing.... In 2007, when they launched the iPhone, Steve called Jonathan Ive to demonstrate the phone. This time, Steve did the exact same thing but demonstrated a video call. It worked great on stage and everybody was excited to see it in action. You can switch from the front to the back camera by just pressing one button. The feature is called FaceTime and you can only use it on WiFi when you and the party you're calling are both on iPhone 4. There is no setup needed. We were then presented with a commercial exemplifying how people would use FaceTime. The whole crowd nearly choked up when they saw the two people speaking in sign language on the phone.

Steve mentioned that there would be two colors, white and black. The pricing will be $199 for 16GB and $299 for 32GB. AT&T is allowing upgrade eligibility up to 6 months early. iPhone 4 will be released in the US, France, Germany, UK, and Japan on June 24. We then saw a video about how the iPhone 4 was made with commentary from the usual guys at Apple. After this, Steve thanked everybody who made this possible and ended the Keynote.

I thought I'd be disappointed that nothing else was announced, but I wasn't. There were no other hardware upgrades, cloud-based iTunes, no new Apple TV, etc. Clearly, iPhone and iOS was the focus of this year's WWDC and Apple seems to have done an amazing job the new iPhone. I'm excited to see how FaceTime ends up changing the way the world communicates with their mobile phones. People will say that this has been around for a while, but Apple is going to be putting it in the hands of millions and making it easy enough for anybody to use. Overall, I had a great time at my first WWDC Keynote. Hopefully, I'll be able to come see Steve speak again and announce a new product in only a way that he can.